Just wanted to share with you that after so much turmoil over the Vandersteens and the Quads and numerous ss and tube amps, I find that all I needed to keep were the DM944s as my mains and switch the 84C+ for serious music listening and the NAD 325BEE to view my TV through or rock out with the DM944s when I get the feeling to.

I hope that you keep the DM944 line as I plan to order a pair as soon as I can in the near future!

About 4 years ago, I had the tonally awesome Vandies (1c) with the 34I but found that some afro latin music I have was slow and compressed and so I sold the 34I and finally the Vandies too and then got the DM944s with bigger tube amps but never tried them with the 84c (which was a costly mistake!) and eventually replaced the DM944s with Quads that sound better with more power but then was disappointed with the sound of most of the cheap tube gear I tried so I sold it off all of and last year ordered the 84c+ with the Parkers but the Parkers never came so I reluctantly sent the 84C back to you and used an NAD/PSB combo after that.

Now, it is all very clear to me to just use the dm944s with the 84c+ and the NAD 325BEE also with the DM944s!

Here are my findings on the DM944s after much heartache:

The Vandersteen 1Cs sounded muddy in direct comparison with the DM944s on the Rogue Cronus(this is a very decent amp, btw)

The Vandies do not do REAL loud but the DM944s don't care how loud they are cranked.

The dM944s have a more natural timbre while the Quads 12L, 22Ls sound more artificial in comparison.

The DM944s have a sunny (not bright) and clean sound while the Quads are forward and rough on the bass (to me).

The DM944s imaged better than the Merlins TSM that were very dark and way OVERPRICED for how they sound.

To conclude, the Vandies and the Quads were like some evil girlfriends that I could not let go from. However, The DM944s fits me perfectly as my own findings above clearly indicate. End of story.

These speakers and amp are now on my permanent list of purchases so until then,

All the best!Rudy

Hi Rudy,

The DM944's would be a rather hard act to follow with anything better in such a small enclosure. If you like the sound of them, the HDT MK II speakers use the same driver compliment and have the same sound but with almost an octave lower bass and more texture in the lower mids. Where the DM944's win is in the way they handle large bass content. You can't mud them out with excessive bass content.